Oberlin College campus photograph

This image shows an aerial view of Oberlin College's campus in Oberlin, Ohio. Oberlin College was founded in 1832 by Presbyterian minister John L. Shipherd. It quickly grew, primarily due to the support of Charles Grandison Finney, one of the leading religious revivalists of the day. Shipherd intended for the college to educate both men and women. The first women formally admitted to the college program enrolled in 1837. The four women who enrolled that year made Oberlin College the first coeducational college in the United States. Three of the four women graduated with A.B. degrees in 1841. They were the first women in the United States to receive this degree. Oberlin College was also one of the first institutions of higher education to admit African Americans